What Are Violin Hips? The Anatomy Behind an Old Term

anatomy

A Short Answer

"Violin hips" is a descriptive term for the same anatomical feature more commonly called "hip dips" today. Both refer to the inward depression visible on the side of the upper thigh, just below the hip bone, where the skin dips inward between the iliac crest (top of the pelvis) and the greater trochanter (top of the femur).

The name comes from a visual comparison: the indentation, when pronounced, resembles the curved waist of a violin body. The term has been in use since at least the mid-20th century, pre-dating the contemporary "hip dip" label that emerged through social media around 2020.

This guide covers the anatomy, the history of the term, who has violin hips, and how the feature relates (and does not relate) to other lateral hip contour concerns like love handles and saddlebags.

The Anatomy in Plain Language

The Two Bones That Decide Whether You Have Violin Hips

Whether you have visible violin hips is determined primarily by the spatial relationship between two bony landmarks:

The iliac crest — the upper rim of your pelvis. You can feel it by placing your hands on your hips; the bony ridge under your palms is the iliac crest.
The greater trochanter — the bony bump on the outside of your upper thigh, at the top of your femur. If you press firmly on the side of your upper thigh while rotating your leg inward and outward, you can feel this point move.

The skin and soft tissue between these two points follows the contour set by the bones. When the distance between the iliac crest and the greater trochanter is wide, the soft tissue sags inward — creating the visible depression that is violin hips. When the distance is narrow, the contour stays smooth and the feature is absent.

This distance is set by your genetics, established during puberty and skeletal maturation, and does not change in adulthood without surgery.

The Three Soft-Tissue Layers

The bone gap is fixed, but three layers of soft tissue cover it and influence how visible a structural violin hip appears:

Muscle: The gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and tensor fasciae latae all sit in and around the depression. Hypertrophying these muscles through targeted resistance training pushes outward against the skin, softening the visual depression.
Subcutaneous fat: Body fat sits between muscle and skin. Higher body fat percentage generally fills the depression; lower body fat percentage typically makes a violin hip more visible.
Skin: Skin laxity matters, particularly with age. Looser skin drapes more visibly into a depression.

Anything that changes one of these three layers affects the appearance of violin hips without changing the cause (the bone gap).

The History of the Term "Violin Hips"

The phrase "violin hips" has been used in tailoring, fashion writing, and physical culture for at least 70 years. It predates the social-media-driven discourse around "hip dips" by decades.

In the mid-20th century, "violin hips" was used descriptively in fashion and pattern-making contexts to identify a body shape that required specific garment adjustments — the indentation created fitting challenges for skirts and trousers that sat at the natural waist or hip. Tailors and home sewers used the term neutrally, the way one might use "narrow shoulders" or "long waist."

The term also appears in older physical culture and gymnastics literature as a descriptor of pelvic shape, again without judgement.

Around 2020-2021, "hip dips" began to replace "violin hips" in popular usage, driven largely by TikTok and Instagram. The newer term is shorter, more clinical-sounding, and easier to hashtag. As of 2026, "hip dips" is the dominant search term by a factor of roughly 30:1, but "violin hips" still receives consistent search traffic, particularly from older demographics and from users searching in fashion or anatomy contexts.

Both terms describe the same anatomical feature. The reference material available to you on either topic is directly applicable to the other.

Who Has Violin Hips?

Prevalence

Approximately 30% of adult women have visible violin hips to some degree. The feature is significantly less common in men (estimated at 8-12%), primarily because men on average have narrower pelvises and therefore less distance between the iliac crest and the greater trochanter.

What Determines It

The primary factor is the shape of your pelvis, which is genetically determined. Secondary factors that affect visibility include:

Muscle development in the hip abductors: more developed makes the violin hip less visible
Body fat percentage and distribution: lower body fat makes the feature more visible
Pelvic tilt: anterior pelvic tilt stretches the soft tissue over the depression, making it more pronounced
Skin laxity: looser skin (with age, after weight loss, or post-pregnancy) makes the depression more visible

Population and Family Patterns

Violin hips run in families, consistent with the genetic basis of pelvic shape. Some populations show higher average prevalence, though the variation within any population is wider than the variation between populations — meaning ethnicity or ancestry is a weak predictor for any individual.

Violin Hips Are Not a Medical Condition

This needs to be stated plainly because the question comes up frequently: violin hips are not a medical condition, a deformity, a disorder, or a sign of any underlying pathology. They are a normal anatomical variation, similar to:

The shape of your nose
The length of your fingers relative to your palm
Whether your ears attach directly to your head or have a free lobe
The depth of your philtrum (the vertical groove above your upper lip)

None of these carry health implications. They are simply ways that normal human anatomy varies between individuals.

If you have been told by a fitness influencer, an aesthetician, or a marketing page that your violin hips indicate weak glute muscles, poor posture, a vitamin deficiency, or any other "problem," you have been given incorrect information. None of those things cause violin hips.

What You Can and Cannot Change

Each approach has costs, timelines, and trade-offs. The other articles on this site go through each in detail.

A Note on Terminology Going Forward

Throughout this site we use "violin hips" because that is the term that brought you here. Where applicable, we note when the term "hip dips" is more commonly used in the current literature or in product marketing. The two are interchangeable — if you read advice aimed at "hip dips" elsewhere, it applies to your violin hips directly.

Where to Go Next

For the structural cause in more detail: Violin Hips Anatomy: Pelvic Structure Explained
For the cultural history of the term: The History of "Violin Hips" as a Body Description Term
For distinguishing violin hips from adjacent features: Violin Hips vs Love Handles vs Saddlebags: Telling Them Apart
For every available option to change their appearance: Can You Change Violin Hips? The Full Solution Spectrum
For the most common questions in short form: Violin Hips FAQ: 25 Common Questions Answered

Each article gives you the complete picture on its topic without spin or upsell.